SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to be transmitted by food ingestion

For this reason, many questions arise in our daily lives and many of them have to do with food safety. Is the virus transmitted via food? Does it survive on surfaces? How should we deal with the food we buy? Do we store it? Do we disinfect it? Is drinking water safe?

Assistant Professor of Public Health, Microbiology - Molecular Microbiology Georgia Mandilara, in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) attemtped to answer some questions we all have.

First of all, she stressed that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, does not appear to be transmitted through food, as this goes down the digestive tract and must pass through the acidic environment of the stomach, where the virus cannot survive.

"According to the European Food Safety Authority, no COVID-19 transmission has been reported to date through food consumption. Therefore, there is no indication that food poses a risk to public health in relation to any particular virus," she said.

However, she stressed the need to follow the food hygiene and safety rules in order to minimise the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, not only because of the pandemic, but also because of the season, and the risk of ingesting other pathogenic microorganisms through food.

Similarly for drinking water, she noted that the normal processing of water to eliminate other pathogens ensures the neutralisation of SARS-Cov-2 and other viruses with a similar morphology.

Listing the precautions that should be taken when handling food, Mandilara advised the following:

- Washing hands well with soap and water before and after shopping, or when preparing food or handling raw meat.

- Washing packaging with soap and water or transferring food to home containers. Alternatively, leaving aside for 1-2 days will ensure the virus becomes inactive.

- Storing food so that there is no contact between raw and cooked foods.

- Washing fruit and vegetables, especially those to be eaten raw, in clean water (not disinfectants or chemicals) or possibly with gentle olive oil soap (which must be rinsed off thoroughly afterward). Alternatively, they can be stored for a 1-2 days for the virus to become inactive.

- Cleaning kitchen utensils (chopping boards, knives etc) with soapy water between use for different kinds of foods, especially meat.